Since the moment I left my job I’ve had different moments of high anxiety when I ask myself - how am I going to do this? Yes, I left my job knowing I had resources and a way to support myself for a while. I took an intentional break, but I am not naive. I know that at some point I need to get back to the grind. As the months pass, I keep getting more and more nervous. My guest today, Tirza Barnes, shook me when she asked me “who told you you need to work to make money?” How’s that for a question. Tirza is a a dynamic force in people development, employee training, and leadership development. After a long career in nonprofits,  she left the 9-5 to do her own thing full time. Since then she has found herself stepping out of the box in many aspects of her life - from relationships, to her approach to her health. I sit down with Tirza to talk about the importance of breaking free from limiting beliefs, making empowered decisions, and getting rid of the need to listen to others’ opinions. Tirza Barnes is the CEO of Tirza Motivates, LLC., a people development, employee training, and leadership consulting company that partners with individuals, corporations, and nonprofits across diverse industries to provide training, development programs, coaching, interactive workshops, and keynote speaking.With over 28 years of experience, Tirza has trained, consulted, and coached thousands of for-profit and nonprofit professionals. She performs organizational change initiatives and develops strategies to strengthen program design and services. She also creates and conducts workshops on various topics that improve employee performance and increase engagement, including group dynamics, wellness in the workplace, DEI, unconscious racial bias, and its effects.Before the launch of her business, Tirza served in a leadership capacity as the Director of Training at Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) and the Senior Professional Development Trainer at the Grace Institute. She also held the Director of Training and Employee Development position at the Goodwill of NY & NJ, where she oversaw training initiatives for over 10,000 employees across the organization. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maricellaherrera.substack.com